ISO: LBR
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The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
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AS WRITTEN
STATEMENT DELIVERED BY HON. AMELIA A. WARD
MINISTER OF PLANNING & ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA
AT THE 4TH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN:
ACTION FOR EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT & PEACE
BEIJING, CHINA, SEPTEMBER 4 - 15, 1995
MADAM CHAIRPERSON,
YOUR EXCELLENCIES,
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE INTERNATIONAL DONOR COMMUNITY,
UN AGENCIES AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOS),
HONOURABLE DELEGATES,
DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
It is indeed a great honour for me to address this distinguished forum
today; a forum where the voices of progress and plight are listened to
with keen attention. These voices that will be expressed or heard in this
forum, will hopefully guide our concerted efforts in making our one world
a better place to live for future generation.
On behalf of the Chairman and Members of the Council of State of the
Liberian National Transitional Government (LNTG), and people of Liberia,
especially the women, I would like to join previous speakers in
congratulating you Madam Chairperson and members of your Bureau, on your
election as the Chairperson of this Conference, to lead and guide our
deliberations. I would also like to express our sincere thanks and
appreciation to the Government and people of the Republic of China for
their wonderful hospitality. They have given us a fine introduction to
China's magnificent culture. Our meeting is therefore affording us the
opportunity to view at first hand its example of successful development,
which has combined rapid growth, and progress in reducing poverty. Permit
me finally to extend my appreciation to the Conference organisers for
their tireless and valuable efforts in preparing this Conference.
Madame Chairperson, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the inexorable
march toward democracy in Africa has been varied to the extent that some
countries have suffered economic hardships, social discontent, political
upheavals, resulting in civil conflicts, ethnic conflicts, accompanied by
large scale migration of refugees to neighbouring and other countries and
massive internally displaced persons.
The civil conflict which erupted in Liberia in December 1989 plunged the
economy into the state of near total collapse in all sectors. It also
resulted into the exodus of rural and urban population to escape the
fighting which brought most forms of productive activities to a halt,
consequently causing severe shortage of food and other essential
commodities and services. The effects were even more critical for the
agricultural and mining sectors which were the major sources of export
earnings.
As I am speaking to you now, by God's grace, a unified Government,
comprising of factional heads and civilian representatives has been
inducted into office. It is our fervent hope that this new Transitional
Government will now facilitate the process of disarmament and
demobilisation of all warring factions, thereby extending its civil
authority throughout the country; repatriate and resettle Liberian
refugees and internally displaced persons; and lead the country to free
and fair democratic elections under international supervision.
Madame Chairperson, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, in many
developing countries, it is often said that women are successful,
powerful and suffer no discrimination vis-à-vis the men. While this may
hold true for educated women especially for the few who have reached
prominence in world politics, the majority of the women remain in
difficult circumstances in many of our developing countries, including
Liberia. They are illiterate and earn little or no income; they are over-
burdened by work both inside and outside the home. They do not own or
inherit property, have little or no control over the circumstances of
their lives and are overlooked or even forgotten in the process of
planning. They are women who till the rice fields and vegetable gardens,
labour the whole day under the hot sun behind the market stalls, carrying
their babies on their backs. They walk for hours to collect fire wood and
water for the household and go through the agony of bearing many children
only to see them dying of diseases and starvation.
The status of these women is determined by a number of variables,
prominent among which are marriage patterns, employment patterns and
educational level. These disadvantaged situation are influenced by a
number of cultural constraints, including unfavourable legal status
exposing them to violent, abuse and prostitution, lack of effective
women-oriented organisations, as well as economic constraints, including
lack of access to credit.
This Beijing Summit is of great significance for the women of Liberia.
The women of Liberia are hopeful that the outcome of the deliberations of
this conference will positively alter their lives following nearly six
years of civil conflict. We wish to take this opportunity to publicly
declare in this forum our deepest appreciation to ECOWAS Member States,
particularly to ECOMOG contributing countries, the international donor
community, the United Nations and its specialised Agencies, National and
International NGOs whose tireless efforts and by God's mercy continue to
keep us alive.
Although some women have attained status of distinction in the socio-
economic and political arena in Liberia, the Liberian society remains a
male-dominated one. This is not unique only to Liberia because in most
African countries, cultural and traditional norms militate against women.
Cognisant of the fact that economic development cannot succeed without
the broad participation of the population especially women who presently
constitute more than 50t of Liberia's human resources, and perform 68% of
all productive activities in the subsistence agricultural sector, it is
imperative that the role of women in any meaningful development effort be
substantially reinforced as a priority consideration.
Madam Chairperson, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, permit me at this
juncture to briefly address the theme of this Conference: The 4th WORLD
CONFERENCE ON WOMEN: ACTION FOR EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE.
It is important to recall that in 1988, the Government of Liberia enacted
into law a National Policy on Population for Socio-Economic Development
and began implementation of said policy immediately thereafter.
The principles embodied in the policy that Government has adopted is in
accord with the Bucharest World Population Plan of Action in 1974;
reaffirmed by the Arusha and the Mexico Declaration in 1984. The Policy
is concurrently being revised to conform to the International Conference
on Population and Development Program of Action which was adopted in
Cairo, Egypt in September 1994 as well as the Forward Looking Strategies
for Women adopted in Dakar, Senegal in March 1995.
Liberia adheres to the belief that the family is the basic unit of
society and ought to be continuously strengthened. It is encouraging to
note that programs have been devised by the International Community to
promote the idea of strengthening the family and encourage all government
to formulate policies which are sensitive to the needs of the family
taking into special consideration the needs of women and children and its
impact. In this perspective, Liberia has been promoting and implementing
family centred development programs prior to the civil conflict and
during the past years through humanitarian and other relief assistance.
Closely related to the issues of family, gender issue is also at the
centre of our development policy and programs. Women not only currently
constitute more than half of the Liberian population but they also have
been playing important role in the political and economic development of
our country, including full participation in the peace process. In
Liberia, constitutionally men and women are guaranteed equal rights,
responsibilities and opportunities in our nation's development. Despite
these intensified efforts to advance the status of women in the family
and society and to enhance their role in development, both as agents and
beneficiaries, admittedly gender gaps still remain a problem. To this
end, our endeavours prior to the civil crisis and during the past few
years have been geared towards the promotion of gender awareness and
training in gender-sensitive and responsive development planning, both at
the national and grass-root levels, through partnership between the
government and the NGOs. The ultimate objective is to achieve harmonious
gender relations not only based on equality between women and men but
also on the principle of sharing and caring for each other in the family
and society in all spheres of life and at all levels of decision-making
beginning in the family.
Madame Chairperson, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
My delegation is of the firm belief that the empowerment of women should
be done through wider provision and access to educational opportunities,
skill training and employment opportunities. In this respect, since 1991,
various women organisations have been advocating for women’s rights, co-
ordinating activities and net-working among women. Furthermore, they have
embarked upon the implementation of a number of women's projects,
including backyard gardening, animal husbandry, small-scale loan scheme
and workshops for small-scale businesses. Additionally, visitations have
been made by these women organisations to various displaced and refugee
centres distributing relief items, such as food,
clothing, medicine, etc. These activities although on a small scale,
attempt to empower women through community based activities.
On the other hand, awareness and promotion of basic human rights is
essential for the empowerment of women. Since the majority of Liberian
women are affected by customary laws, women organisations have also seen
the need to establish institutions with the view to providing free legal
consultations and increased knowledge of human rights.
This Beijing Summit is expected to re-echo the call of the Cairo
Conference for greater investment in people and for a new action agenda
to make women full partners with men in the social economic and political
lives of their communities.
In view of the fact that sustainable human development empower people,
enabling them to design and participate in the process and events that
shape their lives, we are delighted to note that sustainable human
development also recognises that not much can be achieved without a
dramatic improvement in the status of women and the opening of all
economic opportunities to them. In conclusion, Madam Chairperson,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, as we chart our journey from this
Summit into the 21st century and beyond, it becomes evident to all of us
that population problems are still at the heart of the development agenda
with strong emphasis on the need to pursue a sustainable human
development.
We all realise that indeed the ultimate goal of any national development
is the empowerment of people especially women - and the strengthening of
the main building block of any society - the family.
The Liberian delegation pledges its co-operation to you Madam
Chairperson, and all other distinguished delegations so that our
deliberations will be crowned with great success for the sake of the
entire human race, particularly women to which this Beijing Summit is
dedicated.
GOD BLESS US ALL!
I THANK YOU.